Desert Palm Springs – Napa Valley of Cannabis

Last updated 8/27/2015 at 3:48pm

“We’re excited to bring local jobs and bring the city some needed tax revenue,” said Ata Gonzalez, the CEO of Orange County-based G FarmaLabs. The jobs in question would come from the flourishing marijuana industry.

G FarmaLabs, is considering the city of Desert Hot Springs, for a massive all-in-one facility. The goal is to start growing, processing and packaging up to 50,000 pounds of marijuana flower per year by the latter half of 2017 employing 90 people and generating an annual tax revenue of $800,000.

As well as replenishing city coffers, it could help brand the city as a Southern California destination for marijuana production, said Andrew Milks, president of the Brown Dog Health and Wellness dispensary in Desert Hot Springs.

Gonzalez knows not everyone in the city supports the sale of marijuana, but says the taxes his company pays would help cover the city’s substantial public safety costs, and attract tourists.

“If anything, I think they should be happy that we’re creating the Napa Valley of cannabis there,” he said.

While marijuana laws are still a tangle of federal, state and local regulations, pot is still illegal under federal law. Four states and the District of Columbia allow for the drug’s recreational and medical use, and more than a dozen other states have legalized medical marijuana. The U.S. government has deferred to local authorities in states that have legalized it, however transferring products across state lines is still a federal crime.